{"id":6999,"date":"2023-06-21T11:58:35","date_gmt":"2023-06-21T08:58:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/?p=6999"},"modified":"2023-06-21T12:00:06","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T09:00:06","slug":"africas-land-and-forest-restoration-initiative-gathers-pace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/africas-land-and-forest-restoration-initiative-gathers-pace","title":{"rendered":"Africa\u2019s land and forest restoration initiative gathers pace"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"bulletpoints\">\n<ul>\n<li><em>In 2015, African countries launched the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100), committing to restore 100 million hectares (250 million acres) of degraded forests and landscapes by 2030.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>A June 2022 progress report on the initiative showed that nations had put 917,014 hectares (2.27 million acres) under restoration between 2016 and 2021, 63% of that as agroforestry.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Malawi, which has committed to restoring 4.5 million hectares (11.1 million acres) by 2030, is seen to be making progress with a raft of frameworks formulated to support the initiative and more partners joining the cause, building on some previous interventions.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Experts insist there needs to be decisive action to tackle deforestation, which they say is a significant threat to the restoration initiatives in Malawi.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>In front of his rural home in the district of Thyolo in southern Malawi, Douglas Tana grows maize on a tenth of a hectare, or a quarter acre. Before 2010, he used to harvest at most 250 kilograms (550 pounds) of the grain, a staple crop in Malawi, during years of good rains and after applying a combined 25 kg (55 lbs) of nitrogen and phosphorous inorganic fertilizer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPut simply, in the bigger picture, it was a thankless effort \u2026 And I had no faint idea that there was a way to produce more from this piece of land. So, I was resigned to the idea that 250 kgs was the maximum I could get,\u201d he told Mongabay.<\/p>\n<p>However, that story of low-yield frustration changed in 2010 when the World Agroforestry Centre (known by the acronym ICRAF) introduced small-scale farmers, like Tana, to <a title=\"Science Communication Course\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/science-communication-course\">conservation<\/a> agriculture and intercropping their maize with soil-improving trees.<\/p>\n<p>Tana was one of the 75 farmers who put the <a title=\"Field practical training on primate survey methods\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/field-practical-training-on-primate-survey-methods\">methods into practice<\/a>. The results are clear today.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_269500\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-269500\" src=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/06\/07135711\/a-farmer-managed-natural-regeneration-field-intercropped-with-grilicidia-in-a-village-on-the-edge-of-Malabi-forest.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/06\/07135711\/a-farmer-managed-natural-regeneration-field-intercropped-with-grilicidia-in-a-village-on-the-edge-of-Malabi-forest.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/06\/07135711\/a-farmer-managed-natural-regeneration-field-intercropped-with-grilicidia-in-a-village-on-the-edge-of-Malabi-forest-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/06\/07135711\/a-farmer-managed-natural-regeneration-field-intercropped-with-grilicidia-in-a-village-on-the-edge-of-Malabi-forest-610x458.jpg 610w\" alt=\"A farmer's natural regeneration field intercropped with Gliricidia\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1125\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A <a title=\"Enhancement of local farmers\u2019 adaptive capacity to climate stresses, livelihoods and biodiversity conservation through introduction of proven mushroom cultivation and preservation technologies in villages adjacent to Kilombero nature reserve in Kilomber\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/research\/enhancement-of-local-farmers-adaptive-capacity-to-climate-stresses-livelihoods-and-biodiversity-conservation-through-introduction-of-proven-mushroom-cultivation-and-preservation-technologies-in-villag\">farmer\u2019s natural regeneration field intercropped with Gliricidia in a village<\/a> on the edge of a forest. Image by Charles Mpaka for Mongabay.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>A change in yield<br \/>\n<\/strong>Now, Tana\u2019s field is a bush of lush, flourishing\u00a0<em>Gliricidia sepium<\/em>\u00a0offshoots \u2014 a <a title=\"What we owe our trees\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/what-we-owe-our-trees\">tree<\/a> in the bean family \u2014 rising from decade-old stumps and prospering among dry stalks of harvested maize and other plants. In the undergrowth lie the residues of decomposed mulch from prior years.<\/p>\n<table align=\"right\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"24\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"400\"><i><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/06\/07134326\/a-Faidherbia-albida-tree-in-Tanas-field.jpg\" alt=\"A Faidherbia albida tree in Tana's field.\" width=\"400\" \/><br \/>\nA Faidherbia albida <a title=\"Field Practical Training: Tree nursery management &amp; propagation\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/field-practical-training-tree-nursery-management-propagation\">tree in Tana\u2019s field<\/a>. Image by Charles Mpaka for Mongabay.<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Standing tall on one edge of this <a title=\"Mapping small holder\u2019s tree based systems in Rwanda\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/mapping-small-holders-tree-based-systems-in-rwanda\">small farm is a 12-year-old\u00a0<em>Faidherbia albida<\/em>\u00a0tree<\/a>, known locally as\u00a0<em>msangu<\/em>. Indigenous to Africa, the tree has nitrogen-fixing properties and enriches degraded soils.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike in the past, Tana doesn\u2019t need to apply inorganic fertilizer anymore; he doesn\u2019t till the field either, as he used to do. And when he plants his maize, he no longer suffers the headache of weeding, because the mulch of maize stalks and twigs from the coppicing of the\u00a0<em>G. sepium<\/em>\u00a0suffocates weeds. Coppicing means to cut and use the new shoots from stumps of trees. These have reduced both his costs and labor requirements, Tana said.<\/p>\n<p>And now the rewards: These methods have transformed the productivity of his small piece of land from 250 kg of harvest in 2010 to between 700 and 900 kg (1,540-1,980 lbs) of maize every year today.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is unbelievable how things have transformed, how I have become food secure from a piece of land this small,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sustainability to scale<br \/>\n<\/strong>Tana\u2019s new farming methods are among the practices Malawi is promoting in the African <a title=\"A shared understanding of forest landscapes is the foundation for restoration\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/a-shared-understanding-of-forest-landscapes-is-the-foundation-for-restoration\">Forest Landscape Restoration<\/a> Initiative (AFR100). In 2015, African countries committed to restore 100 million hectares (250 million acres) of <a title=\"Restoring Degraded Forests Could Bring Back Lost Rainfall, Cooler Temperatures\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/restoring-degraded-forests-could-bring-back-lost-rainfall-cooler-temperatures\">degraded forest<\/a> and land by 2030.<\/p>\n<p>Herbert Mwalukomo, <a title=\"Re-advertisement: AAS Executive Director role\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/re-advertisement-aas-executive-director-role\">executive director<\/a> for Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy (CEPA), a Malawi NGO, told Mongabay that when African countries launched the initiative there were already a few examples of best practices in forest and land restoration.<\/p>\n<p>In Malawi, for example, there were cases of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/news.mongabay.com\/series\/global-agroforestry\/\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">agroforestry<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/news.mongabay.com\/2022\/08\/let-it-grow-qa-with-reforestation-and-land-restoration-visionary-tony-rinaudo\/\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">farmer-managed natural regeneration<\/a>\u00a0(FMNR), community management of natural forest lands, and many others, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut they were not to a scale. What this AFR100 initiative is doing is to get the earlier practices more organized and promoted. There is now involvement of more partners including the private sector,\u201d Mwalukomo said.<\/p>\n<p>He added the government <a title=\"Recent scientific briefs provide information about the Global Biodiversity Framework goals.\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/recent-scientific-briefs-provide-information-about-the-global-biodiversity-framework-goals\">provided various frameworks<\/a> for the backbone of the initiative.<\/p>\n<p>Under the AFR100, Malawi has committed to restore 4.5 million hectares (11.1 million acres) of deforested and degraded landscapes by 2030 through investing in agricultural technologies, community forests and woodlots, soil and water conservation, river- and streambank restoration, and <a title=\"Research Assistant Manager (Forester)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/research-assistant-manager-forester\">forest management<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>On agriculture technologies, for instance, Malawi plans to increase tree cover on degraded cropland and pastures in agricultural landscapes through practices such as farmer-managed and assisted natural regeneration, direct seeding, and <a title=\"Tanzania Fund for Tree Planting and Beekeeping 2022\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/tanzania-fund-for-tree-planting-and-beekeeping-2022\">planting of agroforestry trees<\/a> and shrubs.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_269503\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-269503\" src=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/06\/07140436\/Tana-working-in-his-field-1.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/06\/07140436\/Tana-working-in-his-field-1.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/06\/07140436\/Tana-working-in-his-field-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/06\/07140436\/Tana-working-in-his-field-1-610x458.jpg 610w\" alt=\"Tana is his field.\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1125\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tana\u2019s field is a bush of lush, flourishing\u00a0<em>Gliricidia sepium<\/em>\u00a0offshoots rising from decade-old stumps and prospering among dry stalks of harvested maize and other plants. Image by Charles Mpaka for Mongabay.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Building coalitions<br \/>\n<\/strong>A 2022 progress\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/afr100.org\/content\/state-afr100-progress-forest-landscape-restoration-implementation-partners\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">report<\/a>\u00a0on the initiative found that between 2016 and 2021, 917,014 hectares (2.27 million acres) of land and forest had been put under restoration \u2014 with agroforestry accounting for 63% of that total area across 15 countries. The report was released by the <a title=\"Call for national experts: strengthening capacity among African forestry stakeholders for implementing REDD+ in Anglophone and Lusophone Africa\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/call-for-national-experts-strengthening-capacity-among-african-forestry-stakeholders-for-implementing-redd-in-anglophone-and-lusophone-africa\">African Union Development Agency and New Partnership for Africa\u2019s<\/a> Development (AUDA-NEPAD), the secretariat of the AFR100.<\/p>\n<p>In the case of Malawi, the government has not released any figures on its progress so far. In March year, the <a title=\"Forest Governance Scholarship for PhD\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/forest-governance-scholarship-for-phd\">government set up a national forest<\/a> monitoring system at the Department of Forestry headquarters. This center is expected to be the database for all restoration initiatives in the country.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[Malawi] expects to validate this information further this year with the AFR100 State Report for 2023,\u201d said Tangu Tumeo, forests, landscapes and livelihoods program\u00a0officer at the IUCN, the <a title=\"Increasing species coverage to support global biodiversity conservation\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/increasing-species-coverage-to-support-global-biodiversity-conservation\">global biodiversity conservation<\/a> authority.<\/p>\n<p>Tumeo said that according to his organization\u2019s Restoration Barometer in 2022, Malawi has put about 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million acres) of land and forest under restoration today, almost 40% of its goal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe goal [of restoring 4.5 million hectares by 2030] is achievable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Stella Gama, director of forestry in the Ministry of Natural Resources and <a title=\"Selling war amid climate change\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/selling-war-amid-climate-change\">Climate Change<\/a>, one of the lead ministries in the AFR100 initiative, said Malawi will accelerate efforts aimed at promoting sustainable forest and land management.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have in place the right policies drawn under <a title=\"Action Awards for Sustainable Development Goals\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/action-awards-for-sustainable-development-goals\">Sustainable Development Goals<\/a> and the global and continental agenda,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are rehabilitating degraded and deforested forestlands through the implementation of the National Forest Landscape Restoration Strategy, National <a title=\"The potential and optimal strategies for charcoal sub-sector development in Tanzania\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/the-potential-and-optimal-strategies-for-charcoal-sub-sector-development-in-tanzania\">Charcoal Strategy<\/a>, REDD+ Strategy, Malawi 2063 Vision and various existing programs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The private sector is getting involved too. Clifford Mkanthama, a <a title=\"Call for consultancy services: recruitment of experts to review and synthesise information on the nexus between climate change, forests and trees\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/call-for-consultancy-services-recruitment-of-experts-to-review-and-synthesise-information-on-the-nexus-between-climate-change-forests-and-trees\">climate change and biodiversity expert<\/a>, points to a recent surge of responses from some of Malawi\u2019s major banks and private firms adopting degraded forest landscapes for management and rehabilitation.<\/p>\n<p>For example, last September the National Bank of Malawi, one of the country\u2019s largest financial institutions, signed an agreement with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change to restore three degraded natural forest reserves located in the three regions of the country. It will do so working with the surrounding communities.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_269505\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-269505\" src=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/06\/07140911\/grilicidia-plant-in-Tana.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/06\/07140911\/grilicidia-plant-in-Tana.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/06\/07140911\/grilicidia-plant-in-Tana-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/06\/07140911\/grilicidia-plant-in-Tana-610x458.jpg 610w\" alt=\"Gliricidia plants in Tana's farm.\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1125\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gliricidia plants in Tana\u2019s farm. Image by Charles Mpaka for Mongabay.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>According to Mkanthama, FMNR or farmer-managed natural regeneration is also taking root.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany areas that are practicing this are not under <a title=\"Call for Projects 2023\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/call-for-projects-2023\">projects<\/a> yet. These are self-motivated initiatives in many areas especially in central Malawi,\u201d said Mkanthama, a <a title=\"The story behind a Carbon Credit\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/the-story-behind-a-carbon-credit\">carbon<\/a> management specialist who coordinates the Malawi project of the U.N. Framework Convention on <a title=\"GMES &amp; Africa Strengthens Synergy with PolicyMakers to Address Climate Change Effects through EO Technologies\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/gmes-africa-strengthens-synergy-with-policymakers-to-address-climate-change-effects-through-eo-technologies\">Climate Change\u2019s<\/a> Capacity Building Initiative Transparency (CBIT).<\/p>\n<p>He said with the dwindling of forests, farmers in Malawi are taking it upon themselves to keep shrubs on their farmlands from which they can harvest wood for cooking and tobacco drying.<\/p>\n<p>Experts, however, agree that deforestation \u2014 largely driven by charcoal production and clearing of land for <a title=\"Forest Farm Producers in Nepal discussed to up-scale the best climate change adaptation practices\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/forest-farm-producers-in-nepal-discussed-to-up-scale-the-best-climate-change-adaptation-practices\">farming \u2014 remains high in Malawi and is a big threat to the country\u2019s forest<\/a> and land restoration drive.<\/p>\n<p>Data from the Ministry of Natural Resources and <a title=\"Heat insurance offers climate change lifeline to poor workers\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/heat-insurance-offers-climate-change-lifeline-to-poor-workers\">Climate Change show that 96% of Malawi\u2019s nearly 20 million people use charcoal and firewood for cooking and heating<\/a>. According to the ministry, this is a major contributing factor to a loss of about 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) of <a title=\"Forest fires: North America\u2019s boreal forests are burning a lot, but less than 150 years ago\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/forest-fires-north-americas-boreal-forests-are-burning-a-lot-but-less-than-150-years-ago\">forest every year<\/a> in Malawi.<\/p>\n<p>Commenting on the 2022 AFR100 Progress report, Nardos Bekele-Thomas, chief executive officer of AUDA-NEPAD, said <a title=\"Call for Applications: Consultancy services on drivers of forest cover change and loss in different forest types in Africa\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/call-for-applications-consultancy-services-on-drivers-of-forest-cover-change-and-loss-in-different-forest-types-in-africa\">Africa spends more than $35 billion on food imports annually as a result of degraded forests and croplands and the associated loss<\/a> of land productivity and desertification.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDegraded <a title=\"Call for consultancy services: recruitment of experts to review and synthesise information on the nexus between climate change, forests and trees\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/call-for-consultancy-services-recruitment-of-experts-to-review-and-synthesise-information-on-the-nexus-between-climate-change-forests-and-trees\">forest landscapes not only intensify the effects of climate change<\/a> but also severely threaten the ecological functions that are vital to building prosperous and resilient economies to the communities,\u201d she said, adding that rural smallholder farmers and households suffer the most from degraded lands because \u201ctheir activities directly depend on healthy soils, tree cover and clean water.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mkanthama said Malawi\u2019s target under the AFR100 and the Bonn Challenge is achievable, but warns the fact that more than 17 million people in Malawi burn biomass for <a title=\"Energy Globe Award for Sustainability \u2014 Awards 2023\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/uncategorized\/energy-globe-award-for-sustainability-awards-2023\">energy<\/a> is a significant threat to the initiative.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s therefore an urgent need for energy alternatives such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), briquettes, and energy-saving devices, he said.<\/p>\n<p>He also said all these efforts need to be consolidated through increasing awareness, <a title=\"Building locally viable ecosystem restoration solutions in Africa.\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/building-locally-viable-ecosystem-restoration-solutions-in-africa\">building local<\/a> capacities, and creating communities of best practice.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_269506\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-269506\" src=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/06\/07141056\/Malabvi-forest-rserve.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/06\/07141056\/Malabvi-forest-rserve.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/06\/07141056\/Malabvi-forest-rserve-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/06\/07141056\/Malabvi-forest-rserve-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/06\/07141056\/Malabvi-forest-rserve-610x458.jpg 610w\" alt=\"Malabvi Forest Reserve\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Malabvi <a title=\"Capacity building on forest conservation and management of water sources in mount Lugala and mount Mosi village land forest reserves in Iringa Rural District (2013-2015).\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/research\/capacity-building-on-forest-conservation-and-management-of-water-sources-in-mount-lugala-and-mount-mosi-village-land-forest-reserves-in-iringa-rural-district-2013-2015\">Forest Reserve<\/a>, a protected area, managed by locals. Image by Charles Mpaka for Mongabay.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Communities of \u2018best practice\u2019<br \/>\n<\/strong>One such \u201ccommunity of best practice\u201d sits just 3 kilometers (2 miles) outside the Blantyre city limits, Malawi\u2019s commercial capital, in rural Chiradzulu district. Here lies Malabvi Forest Reserve, a <a title=\"Protected and Conserved Area Fund\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/protected-and-conserved-area-fund\">protected area<\/a>, managed by locals.<\/p>\n<p>On the edge of the reserve is an empty house for a government forestry officer. But the <a title=\"How forest loss has changed biodiversity across the globe over the last 150 years\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/how-forest-loss-has-changed-biodiversity-across-the-globe-over-the-last-150-years\">last officer was transferred out a year<\/a> ago, and there\u2019s been no replacement since. Despite this, there\u2019s been no breach in the <a title=\"Field Practical Training in Forest protection and Ecological restoration at Kimboza Forest Reserve\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/field-practical-training-in-forest-protection-and-ecological-restoration-at-kimboza-forest-reserve\">forest reserve because the five local villages have been protecting<\/a> it for decades.<\/p>\n<table align=\"right\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"24\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"400\"><i><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/06\/07135307\/a-creek-from-Malabvi-forest.jpg\" alt=\"A creek in Malabvi forest.\" width=\"400\" \/><br \/>\nA creek in Malabvi forest. Until 2018, <a title=\"Call for applications: post-doctoral fellowship on interaction between forest, people and climate change in Africa\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/call-for-applications-post-doctoral-fellowship-on-interaction-between-forest-people-and-climate-change-in-africa\">people relied on forest<\/a> streams to fill a well adjacent to the forest. Image by Charles Mpaka for Mongabay.<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>While <a title=\"FBL 301: Forest Protection\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/study\/fbl-301-forest-protection\">protected forests<\/a> in neighboring Blantyre have been stripped to the last shrubs, the slopes of Malabvi Forest Reserve, declared a protected area in 1927, remain covered in natural forest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have in place bylaws which we created ourselves to punish anyone who cuts trees in the reserve,\u201d said Likumba, the head of one of the villages in the area. \u201cWe also have groups of 10 volunteers each who alternate patrolling the reserve day and night and enforce these by laws. So far, our measures are working.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But the major driving force behind the <a title=\"Global Transformation of Forest for People and Climate: A Focus on West Africa\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/global-transformation-of-forest-for-people-and-climate-a-focus-on-west-africa\">people\u2019s desire to protect the forest<\/a>, according to Likumba, isn\u2019t fear of punishment. It\u2019s their understanding that they gain much more in keeping the forest intact than destroying it.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, until 2018, there was no borehole in the community, so people relied on forest streams to fill a well adjacent to the forest for <a title=\"Water, Climate, and Biodiversity\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/water-climate-and-biodiversity\">water<\/a> for drinking, domestic use and irrigation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat <a title=\"Well Aware \u2014 Water Projects in East Africa\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/well-aware-water-projects-in-east-africa\">well supplied water<\/a> to our grandparents and their parents. It supplies cool and clean water to us today. And we know that this <a title=\"Why Tropical Forests Are Important for Our Well-Being\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/why-tropical-forests-are-important-for-our-well-being\">well and the streams exist today because of the forest<\/a>. This is wealth bequeathed to us by our parents and by nature,\u201d Likumba said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWithout that forest, all the streams you see bearing down the hill and watering our lives would have dried up,\u201d he said. \u201cWe would not be breathing the fresh air here as you can feel it. We would not be growing sugarcane, <a title=\"Ecological Research Confirms the Dominant Influence of Climate on Vegetation\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/ecological-research-confirms-the-dominant-influence-of-climate-on-vegetation\">vegetables<\/a> and bananas as you have seen. Our maize fields would have been dry. So we will not tolerate anyone to <a title=\"Restoring degraded forest landscapes in Rwanda\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/restoring-degraded-forest-landscapes-in-rwanda\">degrade<\/a> that forest.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_269501\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-269501\" src=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/06\/07140044\/a-sugarcan-field-along-a-stream-coming-from-Malabvi-forest.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/06\/07140044\/a-sugarcan-field-along-a-stream-coming-from-Malabvi-forest.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/06\/07140044\/a-sugarcan-field-along-a-stream-coming-from-Malabvi-forest-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/06\/07140044\/a-sugarcan-field-along-a-stream-coming-from-Malabvi-forest-610x458.jpg 610w\" alt=\"A sugarcane field.\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1125\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sugarcane <a title=\"Doctoral Researchers\/PhD Students (9 positions) in the field of forest biodiversity research\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/doctoral-researchers-phd-students-9-positions-in-the-field-of-forest-biodiversity-research\">field along a stream flowing from Malabvi forest<\/a>. Image by Charles Mpaka for Mongabay.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>The magic of trees<br \/>\n<\/strong>Back in Thyolo, in southern Malawi, farmer Douglas Tana touched the leaves of his\u00a0<em>Gliricidia<\/em>\u00a0trees.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis tree is magic. It is pure magic. It has rehabilitated the <a title=\"FBE 610 Forest Soils \u2013 Fertility and Plant Nutrition\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/study\/fbe-610-forest-soils-fertility-and-plant-nutrition\">soils here so rapidly and I like how it coexists with other crops while also fertilizing<\/a> the soils for their growth,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is multipurpose. It grows fast so it provides us with firewood and poles. I use the leaves to supplement feed for my dairy cow and that has led to the doubling of its milk production.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With these more sustainable measures, Tana and his family of five have not only become food secure, but are creating a farm that is more <a title=\"Funding: Climate-resilient Action in African Countries\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/funding-climate-resilient-action-in-african-countries\">resilient to climate<\/a> and ecological upheavals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 2015, African countries launched the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100), committing to restore 100 million hectares (250 million acres) of degraded forests and landscapes by 2030. A June 2022 progress report on the initiative showed that nations had put 917,014 hectares (2.27 million acres) under restoration between 2016 and 2021, 63% of that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7000,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6999"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7009,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6999\/revisions\/7009"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}